Hack & Scratch Golf Podcast

S1E12 - Masters Review, Lebron Does Golf, Golf Conspiracy Theories

• Dez and Casey • Season 1 • Episode 12

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This episode dives into the excitement of Masters week, covering recent golf tournaments, celebrity golf moments, and predictions for the upcoming Masters. It also explores the fascinating world of Augusta's traditions, merchandise, and conspiracy theories, making it a must-listen for golf fans and newcomers alike.

00:00 Shocking Your Spouse During Masters Week
01:24 The Excitement of Masters Week
03:43 Recent Tournament Highlights
05:12 Women’s Amateur and Notable Performances
06:56 Golf YouTube and Celebrity Appearances
09:04 Predictions for the Masters
13:12 Merchandise Madness at Augusta
18:27 April Fool's Day Golf Gags
26:22 The Masters Dinner: A Culinary Controversy
33:46 Storylines Leading to the Masters
42:48 Conspiracy Theories of Augusta National


Masters, golf, Augusta, tournament, celebrity golf, golf merchandise, golf conspiracy, golf predictions, golf stories

SPEAKER_00

All right, so here are some ways to shock your spouse this Master's week while you're watching it on your TV. So if your spouse is watching golf, you just have to say, I just don't know if he has the right caddy on the bag. Now, Casey, would that would that make you pause at all and look back at your spouse and say, what?

SPEAKER_01

That would definitely make me do a double take as to where did she come up with that?

SPEAKER_00

Okay. Okay, good. That's this is what it's supposed to incite. So let's keep going. Anytime it's in the bunker, the sand, anytime it's in the bunker, all you have to say is, gosh, you can't short side yourself here. Those greens just don't allow it. Perfect. Also very surprising if I heard it. Okay. If any of these tip the scale where you have to call BS, just let me know. On a missed putt, everything out of Gesta breaks more than you think.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, I'm calling BS on that, even though I know it's true.

SPEAKER_00

Nice. Okay. If your spouse says or uses the phrase the rough, correct them and say it's the first cut.

SPEAKER_01

That's an extreme one. That's very specific. I would call BS on that, but that's hilarious.

SPEAKER_00

All right. This last one's very, very easy to throw out anytime throughout the week. Do you think the pimento cheese sandwiches are still $1.50 or has inflation hit that too?

SPEAKER_01

Hey, that that one I might believe. You know, that's pretty relevant. And I think people know about the sandwiches, so that's pretty good.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. All right. So go use those and surprise your spouse this week while they're watching the Masters.

SPEAKER_01

Local municipal golf course says it's been overrun by what some are calling quote golfers. Has the game grown too much? Do we need more scratch golfers? I'm telling you, hack slow the game down. You can't grow golf if people are chunking it into the weeds all day. Scratch player?

SPEAKER_00

I'm so excited. Obviously, I look like this. Uh how are you doing, Casey? I'm doing great.

SPEAKER_01

It's the best golf week of the year, in my opinion. There's stuff you can watch on it every day of the week. It's it's the most beautiful tournament, great production quality, great storylines and legends. So couldn't be more excited.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, it really is. I mean, uh honestly, in all sports, I think one thing that, you know, and and honestly, we're just coming off the back of March Madness. Congratulates to Michigan on the win. But one thing that March Madness and Masters does really well is coverage. Coverage is so good at the Masters. You can see almost anything you virtually want now. You can almost see all the players. The coverage starts early and obviously goes till late. It's just a phenomenal thing to watch. I know for people that don't like golf, you know, the they, you know, say it's too boring. There's never a dull moment at the Masters. You can always be watching something exciting, which I think is great.

SPEAKER_01

Definitely. And the production quality has just gone up probably every year. Um, it's always been really good, but as we moved even more into the digital age, there's just cameras everywhere and different interviews and close-ups and stuff. It's just the best. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

Well, we're going to talk a lot about the Masters this show. It's going to be pretty much dedicated to it. But before we get there, we do have to round out some of the most recent news. Obviously, this last week we still had a tournament. It's the one that everyone wants to get in or to win to get into the Masters if they haven't already qualified. This year didn't quite provide that. Someone who was already going to be playing this week won it. JJ Spawn comes from seemingly behind truly on Sunday. I thought it was going to be a two-horse race early in the week. Didn't work out that way. I think almost seven or eight people were truly in contention at some point on Sunday. And JJ walks away with it at 17 under, wins by one shot. There's a couple of headlines of obviously, you know, another kind of slip up from Ludwig. Robert McIntyre, Bobby McIntyre had a chance to win it on Sunday, finished T2 along Matt Wallace and Michael Kim. So, you know, it's it's an interesting way to set up for a Masters week. I think JJ winning it obviously solidifies that his game is still in a great place from last year. Um, and then if you really believe the kind of headline that the Masters winner has to have won previously early in that year, uh, that now puts him firmly in contention of that. Adds another storyline into that. But what do you think of uh Valero Texas Open this week?

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, I mean, you know, some weather issues, which definitely complicated the whole tournament. But I I think it's a great way to see where you are going into Masters Week. And yeah, I mean, it's really fun when you're watching a uh on a Sunday and you see like five or six guys tied at second place. So you know, like it's kind of a toss-up. And that makes those rounds really exciting to watch. And I'm not surprised that JJ pulled it off. I think he's felt more comfortable in those positions in the past couple years. So I I'm hoping that that's going to carry over into this week.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. While we didn't have a live event or a TGL event to cover this past week, we did have a pretty unique event that took us all the way to Augusta, uh, but it was for the women's amateur. And a lot of great players have been playing in that in recent years, a lot of dominant figures on the LPGA now, but all headlines were uh around uh a great golfer, Astris Tally. I didn't see the I never went back and saw the footage of, you know, a very understanding, understandable collapse, you know, that had to do with 12. And I didn't go back and see it, but you said you saw the clips of it. What was it like?

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, I did. It was rough. And it honestly, it's nothing we haven't seen before on the 12th hole at Augusta in any tournament there. You know, Astris Tally, incredible top amateur, hits her first shot into the bunker over the green, tries to get it, you know, gives it enough to get it pretty close, but it just rolls past the hole and then goes into the water, has to drop, do it all over again. So I think it was either it's triple or quadruple bogey that dropped her almost instantly. And so, you know, it was it was a tough watch considering she was the runner-up last year. But, you know, I kept thinking, and like, yeah, I kind of I wanted her to win, but she has such a long career ahead of her and she hasn't even really got started. So it's gonna be pretty incredible to see where she goes. I think she committed to Stanford, which is one of the top golf schools in in the nation. So, you know, rough, rough finish for her, but it's not obviously not the last time we're gonna see her. And then the the winner eventually was Maria Jose Marin, I believe. Marin. But she's I think she set a record too in the scoring. Just an incredible final round. Uh so super impressive overall by all these amateur golfers.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, even without the collapse, there is a chance that Astris didn't get it done. It wouldn't, you know I think one at like minus 14 or minus five fifteen. So, you know, did quite well for the week. And um, who knows what would happen, but you know, we're just the collapses are the things that we remember, and and she definitely had a tough one. I heard on the uh masters on the range this morning that Bryson spent a bit of time with her yesterday just talking about it and or talking it over and and kind of a little bit of consoling, but also chin up kind of thing. And um that's that's really nice to see. Um yeah, ultimately great event that that Augusta National's been putting on for the past few years and um hope they continue to do it, and hopefully I find myself one day watching it live. You know, I submit for master's tickets, but I also submit for Augusta's women's amateur every year. Um maybe one day. Well, as we shift uh again to a different medium, we're going into the golf YouTube realm quite a week for the golf YouTube fans and uh a little bit of quieting the noise from from the haters. We got probably, yeah, let's go with it, one of the biggest, top five biggest celebrity athletes in the world right now on Bob Disports. I mean, that just just the saying that it just sounds crazy. Bob was, I mean, no, no offense to this, but Bob was a frickin', you know, bellman at the four seasons five years ago, and now he's on top of the world of YouTube golf with LeBron James. Like this, these kinds of stories just only happen in movies. And it is incredible. What did you think in general of the video?

SPEAKER_01

I I mean, yeah, I loved it. Uh, most of all, my biggest takeaway was I loved LeBron's energy the entire time. You could tell he was just so happy to be there. He's just a genuine guy, seemed like he was having a great time. Um, so I just loved it. And so I I really mean this when I say that Bob does sports, they're just getting started. They have a long, long, like incredible channel that is just gonna grow uh exponentially now that they have these legends like LeBron James on their on their show. So it was super fun. And they played a really cool chorus, El El Caballero, uh, out here in LA. So, you know, I I was super happy for them that they got to do something like this. And I thought LeBron was great to watch. I loved his commentary. Bob is great with all the banter, so it just flowed so well. What do you think?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. He um, and I'm honestly not the biggest LeBron fan. I have a weird love-hate relationship with LeBron because I grew up a Lakers fan and it always felt like Kobe's team to me. And so when LeBron came in, it just never felt quite the same. Um, but give him credit. I mean, so likable, very just, I don't know, just the from the moment he dapped up J-Bone and said, Hey, what's up, J-Bone? I knew I was like, all right, this guy left his ego at the door. That's incredible. So, you know, I I just I found myself really enjoying watching him go through it and the interviews that Bob did. Obviously, the golf game could be a little bit better and it'll get there. And this is coming from a person who probably would shoot the same as LeBron, who knows? But the golf could be a little bit better. I did think it was funny, you know, no matter what, even if it was a shank, they'd be like, Yeah, good. That's you know, good. You're getting there, it's getting straighter. I found myself being like, wow, this is like next tier level kind of glazing. But at the same time, it's like, what would I do? I'd be doing the same thing. Are you? I'm not gonna tell LeBron, hey, nice shank. You know, it's there's no way. So hats off to them for for handling how they did. And I just thought it was a hell of an entertaining watch. Hey, that I think Bob, I think that's their best like celebrity finish. I think six under through nine. Incredible.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, yeah, they did play well overall, too. So that was uh I was happy for them as well.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, well, it was incredible. I think last time I checked, 2.6 million views in less than a week. That shatters almost everything that's out there. Pretty incredible stuff. So hopefully, yeah, like you said, more to come. And I think you know, people who are interested in golf and seeing that, who are celebrities, might want to pick up a phone and call Bob to sports and and get on it because it's great promotion. Yep, 100%. Well, not to put that in the shadow of LeBron, but any other video probably did get that treatment this week um and didn't quite get the viewership it was. But I did want to highlight one. So foreplay, amidst all their tiger scandal and rigs and all that stuff, amidst that they did put out a really great video on Ludvig, and they played um uh a scramble against Ludvig, and it was great, but they also did an interview with him. And there is just so much to like about this young, incredible rising talent. I know he's had some highs and lows this year, but oh my gosh, you want to talk about another person who's just like camera ready, PR trained, nice guy, good looking, like the dude just doesn't have many faults to him. And they interviewed him a little bit about what it golf was like back home and some of his buds. And he was walking us through the story of how he surprised one of his friends last year after, or not that last year, um this year, after TPC Sawgrass and after the players took him up to play around at Augusta. And he walked us through what that m was like for his friend who only grew up in Europe and and never dreamed of being able to play at Augusta. It was just so cool and just seems like a just a genuine guy.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, and that's so awesome too for him specifically, because like putting it into perspective, to be able to take somebody that's not like in your team to Augusta, like has to be such a crazy experience. Like, yeah, just me and my buddy going to tee it up at Augusta. Like, that's so much different than playing in the Masters and such an experience that I'm sure his friend was just so privileged to be able to share. So overall, so cool.

SPEAKER_00

One thing is I'm curious what you would say. So he surprised him the night before. They had to drive up to Augusta that next morning and and play. Would you have wanted to know a little bit before the night before?

SPEAKER_01

Yes, I think I would have, but at the same time, like I'll take the surprise. That that that sounds like such a whirlwind of uh 24 hours that that would be pretty pretty intense in a good way.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. Yeah, pretty awesome. All right, we've officially covered enough of what we need to cover on the outside. It's time to focus in on the masters. We got a great slate of golfers this year. And just even listening to some of the backstories of the amateurs that they have this year just seems like we're gonna have a really, really good one. But we're talking right now, specifically picks of who we think can don that green jacket come Sunday. So looking at the entire board, all these accomplished golfers, where does your mind drift to?

SPEAKER_01

I mean, it's really hard to choose because like the top players, this is the top players. And we're not just talking PJ Torre, we're talking Live as well. So my first pick is John Rom. You know, he's played incredibly on Live, and he just he's always a threat and former winner, former incredible dinner menu host. Yes, which I think plays part. So he's he's my first pick, is John Rom, first off. The second one, and this is this is my pick, but also maybe a little bit of a personal pick is Justin Rose. I would love to see Justin Rose win, especially after last year. He's starting to reach that age where it gets more difficult to win a major championship, but he obviously still can. He has a win so far this year, I believe. So that's that's my pick. My kind of long shot, not even long shot, but we're just talking about him with JJ Spawn. He won last week. He knows what it's like now to win a major championship. Uh, and he's won another tournament in addition. He, whatever he's doing, he's doing it correctly. So he's my pick. And then my last one, Matt Fitzpatrick. He's been right there for weeks. And if there's anybody that could just have it all come together and make it happen at Augusta, it would be Matt Fitzpatrick. So, you know, that those are my picks. I will say I have a weird feeling, and I have no evidence to base this, that it's gonna be somebody lesser known and down the list. I don't know why, just a feeling I have.

SPEAKER_00

Interesting. I don't know if I have that same feeling, although what I do know is we are aligned on two of the same picks. So I have Rom and Rose as well. I think for me, I was looking at, you know, who do I want to play between Bryson and Rom? Both are great options, both have recent wins on Live and seem to be really in good form. I love that Bryson put himself in contention last year. I think that is kind of one of the qualifiers for me to really believe that they have a shot, is they have to have been there before and lost it or won it. It doesn't matter, but you've had to see that pressure before on Sunday. And so I did like Bryson, but I just think Rom edges him out on that since he has a green jacket already. Um, I think that's a huge advantage there. So I took Rom Rose again right there. He was there back in 2017 against Sergio, lost in the playoffs, lost in the playoff to Rory last year. I think he has one more loss or second in addition to that as well. And so he's put himself right there. He's coming into this with a lot of confidence. He set a record at Tory this year with his score there, um, and obviously the win. I I think it's as good a time as ever, but you know, on the on the presser today, you know, he talked about that exact thing is like he usually doesn't come into this tournament with all eyes on him, everyone rooting for him, and he knows that that'll be part of it this year, is that people saw him lose and lose graciously, and a lot of people are in his camp this year. And so we talked about that. So that's the only thing that concerns me a little bit about him. But I mean, obviously he has the game to do it and put himself right there on Sunday. These next two little bit longer shots, but very familiar. Akshay, I think he's playing incredibly well. He's got the putter rolling, um lefties. Let's let's throw out that you know, lefties at Augusta. He fits that mold. Obviously, he has won this year already, so fits that as well. I really like Akshay to have a good finish. He doesn't really have a good finish. I think he has like a T25, maybe as his best. But like I said, this year is different. I think he's coming into it with a lot more confidence, and so I hope to see him do well. And the last one is a familiar name that I just feel like the competitive juices are finally flowing through him again, and it's Patrick Reed. Obviously, made the bold step, stepping away from Liv, doing everything he needed to get back onto the PGA tour. You only do that for one reason, it's to compete. He went out there, won a DP World Tour event. I just feel like this guy's prime to just kind of silence the crowd again and say I'm still here. I don't really like the guy, like as a person. I don't know. I just never have. I've probably bought into that narrative more than anything, but I kind of rooting for him this year. Seems to be going about it the right way. And so I think Patrick Reed will do what really will.

SPEAKER_01

I think those are all great picks, and I I totally get them. I will disagree with one thing you said was that Akshay hasn't done well at Augusta, and I disagree because he is the drive chip and putt winner from years ago. So you're right.

SPEAKER_00

He has one of Augusta. That's right. Nice. Well, speaking of Augusta, there is something that has been building for the last few years. It's always been there, don't get me wrong, but man, looking at social media, and obviously, as we are on social media for for the content, these masters halls are on another level. Already started, started last week with the women's amateur and people being allowed on the grounds and the Pro Shop or the merch tent. Very few are allowed actually in the Clubhouse Pro Shop, but uh mainly the merch tents. It is incredible. So instead of doing a traditional pro shop drop where we go through the latest releases, I just want to run you through some statistics and you let me know how crazy they are. So do you have an a figure of how much merch they sell in a week at Augusta? I know it's millions. Yes, like probably tens. Tens. It is approximately $70 million of merch in seven days.

SPEAKER_01

That's incredible. No wonder they don't worry about charging for food. Like no, yeah.

SPEAKER_00

No, I they they make a bulk of their money on merch, not ticket sales. Um, because obviously the ticket sales are actually quite cheap if they're not on the secondary market. So they make a bulk of their money, I think it's like 42% off merch sales for the week. Unbelievable. That's crazy. It works out to be $270 per second. So on hours that the the Masters is running, $70 per second is what Augusta's taking home. Uh, which is incredible when you think about the highest price item is actually not as expensive as you'd think. The highest price item that you can get is in Berkman's the Pro Shop in the clubhouse. It's a limited edition putter, but it's $425. It's not $2,000, $3,000. It's only $425. So they're making this much money selling, you know, $80 to $160 items just by the barrel, which is incredible.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. Do you think those have a large resale value though? Because what I'm guessing is something like a putter. People, especially like high-end collectors, love that stuff.

SPEAKER_00

Yes. So one thing I will was gonna get to, but I'll get to it now, the gnome. And what's crazy is the gnome has only been around since get this 2016. It's not even that old. Really? Yes. So they started selling these gnomes in 2016, and there were, I don't know if there were that many bought. You know, they've only become a really big collector's item in recent years, a kind of post-COVID. 2016 Gnome, which I guess is hard to get, just sold at auction uh a few months ago for a resale value of ten thousand dollars.

SPEAKER_01

Oh my god. And how how much did it cost originally? $49.99. My God. Yeah, that's crazy. Crazy. That's an insane amount of money.

SPEAKER_00

And so these things now, which I think are limited to a thousand a day that they sell, they sell out within an hour of the Pro Shop opening. And so, yeah, they become very, very collectible, resellable. I think the ones this year are selling for like $300 on eBay right now. So already specs the value, you know, the same day you buy it.

SPEAKER_01

Crazy. Do you know if there's a limit to um the amount of stuff that you can buy?

SPEAKER_00

No, there's no limit to the amount of items you can buy. And what's even more impressive is they have FedEx and UPS tents on site. So if you have too much, you can pay to shoot. It directly to your house. It's a millionaire's dream. Like it's incredible. I mean, they think of everything. They the even they say the flow pattern through the the store is, you know, science. They got it down to a science. And they're just turning these things out. So that being said, the lines on Thursday are apparently the worst in the morning. People want to get out there and get their merch done before they go enjoy a lot of golf. Golf's the longest on Thursday. It's up to two and a half hour lines in the morning on Thursday. I don't know. There's you have this wonderful opportunity to see Augusta in the Masters, and you're going to spend two and a half hours in a merch line. It's tough. I mean, I want the merch, but not that bad.

SPEAKER_01

I want the merch too, but I would be so mad if I missed somebody who I love teeing off on the first something like that. It's just not worth it to me.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. All right. The last stat I have about the merch, which I could just go on for days about this. How many hat styles do you think they have this year?

SPEAKER_01

I feel like it shouldn't be a lot. I'm I'm guessing like 10 maximum. 116.

SPEAKER_00

It's the record setting year. They have 116 different hats across men's, women's, and kids. Unbelievable.

SPEAKER_01

Wow. I for some reason I kind of thought that they want to keep it like traditional. We only make this certain type of hat, but wow. Okay.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, 116. And that includes things like the straw hats and the different kinds of things. But yeah, 116 variations across across women's kids and uh men. That's pretty unbelievable. Unbelievable. All right. So we've gotten to the part where we like to do some games. I just, I know we want to focus on the masters, but I could not get over how good the social media teams for some of these brands were this week on April Fool's. They were putting out some really good, hilarious content. And I just want you to blind rank some of these for me, okay? Okay. Let's take it. I know you can see them. I think you can see them right now. So the first one that I want to show you is Callaway's Chrome Tour Karens and Chad's with the little bit, little figure Karen's and Chad's on the golf ball.

SPEAKER_01

This is hilarious too, because like when somebody like that finds one of these balls, do they know what it means? Probably not. Um five. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

That's a good spot. Okay. This next one, I thought it was cheeky. Titalist. You know how everyone's doing these kind of themed balls and different sets and things like that. So they released their icon edition, the 25th, 25th anniversary of their Pro V1 ball, iconic electric white style ball.

SPEAKER_01

So it's so it's just the old ball? Yeah, it looks exactly the same as their normal Pro V1. That is so brilliant. And I actually think it would sell. So I'm gonna put that at a two. That's so good.

SPEAKER_00

Nice, good on themselves for making fun of themselves. I love it. Okay, so this next one was for a God, I can't remember what company it was, but they were advertising their latest bag, and it's a left-handed player's bag. That's so funny, man.

SPEAKER_01

I'll put that at three. That's so funny.

SPEAKER_00

Good. These are clever. Like I said, I had a great April Fool's last Wednesday. I was dying laughing the whole time. They were they were just cranking these out. Okay, next one. Costco released a new putter. It's their zero torque Kirkland signature putter.

SPEAKER_01

This is so funny, too, because you know me. Wilson just came out with their zero torque putter. You might need to look back and make sure that that's not an April Fool's. I know. Now I'm now I'm questioning that, but a Kirkland Zero Torque putter? That is so funny. One, four, and six left. I'll save it. I'll put it down at the bottom, even though I really like it.

SPEAKER_00

No, it's good. All right, this next one. I can't even say these without smiling. PGA Superstore is now offering a limited time deal and a new service provided, which is daycare while you use their practice bays. Oh my God.

SPEAKER_01

You know that there are parents that actually want this. Dude, I saw it and was like, not a bad idea. Not a bad idea, but that is absolutely hilarious. And I love the picture. I'm putting that at number one.

SPEAKER_00

I think it deserves it. I think it deserves it. That is that's just getting down to the heart of like how insane golfers are. I would almost consider this. Okay. The last one, which automatically gets slotted into fourth, which I think is a good position for it. But the par three contest, which normally family friendly, they just felt like it wasn't as, you know, friendly to all. And so they're gonna switch that to a par from the par three contest to a pickleball challenge. So now that there's a pickleball tournament on the Wednesday of the Masters, and and that's what it's gonna be.

SPEAKER_01

That's amazing. Could you imagine if they actually did that? People would freak out.

SPEAKER_00

People would run a lot of Achilles tears that that day before the Masters. You gotta you gotta love it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Well, that's hilarious. Props to these social media managers.

SPEAKER_00

So good. So good. Yeah. Um, all right. This next game, we we said that we were gonna do this last week. I asked you what your ideal masters champions dinner would look like for yourself if you were to host it, but it brought us to talk about hey, what are the worst masters dinners of all time? So I put together quite a good list. There's the top five. Now I will be fair, two of them are Bubba Watson's. So why not start off with the man who not only did it once, but doubled down and did it twice? Okay, so his master's dinner, his first one happened in 2013. For his appetizer, he served, I love that it says traditional, traditional Caesar salad. Okay. For his mane, he only uh served one mane, which is very controversial. Usually you serve two in case people want something different. Only served one mane, and it was a grilled chicken breast followed with sides of green beans, mashed potatoes, corn, mac, and cheese. My God.

SPEAKER_01

Do you think he's doing this on purpose to like make sure that the other players don't feel good the day going into the tournament?

SPEAKER_00

So Bubba is like a straight up, like good old Southern boy, born and raised in Georgia, simple, comfort food eats. I think this was done wholeheartedly. I think he got so much crap for it that he was like, screw you guys, I'm doing it again. That's the only reason why I think the menu stayed the same, is he kind of took offense to this because I actually think he meant it with sincerity. Like, this is my what this is what I had growing up. These are my favorites, this is what my mom would cook. This is, you know, this is family meal. I'm sharing my family with you. But damn, I mean, compared to some of the best ones, it's rough. That's that's a rough meal to look forward to compared to some of these others. And then he closed it off with confetti cake, a little fun fetti cake. Oh my god. Can you imagine to see like Gary Player and like Jack Nicholas just shooting out a confetti cake?

SPEAKER_01

Oh man. And we will never get to see it because we don't get to go in that room. No.

SPEAKER_00

All right, we're gonna move on. So that was pretty bad. Uh, this next one, very famous one, I think at the time was thought of as a joke. Now, looking back, it's kind of legendary, but it's Tiger's first win in 1997, which he hosted the dinner in 1998. And there's a great famous picture. Everyone's seen it, of him eating French fries at the Master's Dinner. But it's a cheeseburger, a grilled chicken sandwich served with French fries and milkshakes. There was no, there was that was the appetizer. There was no other appetizers other than that. You know, I'm thinking So Cal Kid, he ordered In N Out. Yeah, you know what? That's that's probably what it was. He did serve two mains, so he gets credit for that. He served two mains. He served a prime filet mignon and a sauteed sea bass. So good on him for for serving those two options. And then he followed it up with his dessert, which was strawberry shortcake. Honestly, pretty respectable. I think it's hilarious that he did that at the beginning. I think it shows his youth back then. What was he when he was one year old?

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

He's pretty much so. I love that one actually. All right. This next one belongs to Sandy Lyle, famous Scottish golfer who won the Masters in 1988. He put everyone through the ringer. So he did a good appetizer. He did a jumbo crab meat cocktail to start. Seemingly okay. What does lump crab meat mean? I would assume it's like, I don't know. I would assume it's heavy chunks of crab meat. Let's just go with that.

SPEAKER_01

Let's pretend like without with that lump in there, I'm a little hesitant.

SPEAKER_00

I think I think it was okay. Uh I but this next one is where it got everybody. And I'm trying to remember, I don't think he gave a secondary main course option. So people were forced. If they wanted, if they wanted food, they were gonna have to eat this very traditional Scottish dish known as haggis. Okay. And if you're if you're about to eat, you're probably not gonna want to hear this. But it is a savory pudding made of sheep's heart, liver, and lungs minced with oatmeal, onions, and spices, all encased in a sheep's stomach lining. God help us. That sounds terrible. It's probably a few-factor challenge. Honestly, I mean, I there's that that's pretty insane that he only offered that. I can't even imagine. I would I would have to assume a lot of champions went home hungry that night and just passed on that.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, this is one of those moments where you're going to an event and you and your wife know you need to eat beforehand like that. That knowing you're if you know you're showing up to that, I don't know.

SPEAKER_00

He served it with turnips and tatties, which apparently is Scottish for potatoes. So that were the sides. Not even that appetizing of sides, but yeah, I uh to honestly, for because you were forced into that, I think that's one of the hardest ones.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, you lost me at savory pudding.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. Yeah. This next one and the last one of the top five, Trevor Immelman, a South African golfer who won back in 2008, so pretty recent, served some traditional South African dishes. Um, I'm gonna butcher the pronunciation of this, so I guess it doesn't look like I'm going to Cape Town anytime soon. But I think it's bobo tea. Um, but it probably isn't. But I'm gonna go with bobo tea. It is South African minced meat pie with an egg topping. And so that's what he that's what he served. Yeah, that's what he served for uh his mane and his and then the appetizer, I believe, was Sosa tease, which is basically a chicken skewer. And then he did a spinach salad, and the dessert was a milk tart. What are what are we doing here, guys? It's tough. I mean, honestly, that's that doesn't sound that bad, but that's pretty bad for a champion's dinner. That's that's tough.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, maybe South African mincemeat pie, sure. But with an egg topping, no, get that out of here. I d yeah, I don't know. I know. I guess they want to do things traditional to their country. I understand. I get it. I get it.

SPEAKER_00

Part of it's sharing your heritage. I totally get it. And you know, all Hideki was doing was sharing his heritage with everyone, but it just happens to be a slightly more appetizing heritage. Absolutely. Yeah. Um, all right. This next game. So out of out of those, just curious before we move on, what what would have been your worst? Like, you're not, you're you're passing. Honestly, I think it's the um what the haggis, the Scottish meal. I can't do that now. I have what about you? If I ever get to talk to someone that was at that dinner, I do have to just ask, like, hey, what was what was the vibes that night? Yeah. Yeah. Um all right. So we're gonna go uh to our next game. It's less of a game and just more of something that I think we should do going into a week like this. We've been talking about it for the last 12 weeks, how the storylines just seem to build themselves leading up to the masters. And now we're on its doorsteps, and I think it's good to refresh and look at them and see where you're at. So we're gonna game play a game of buy or sell, and you're either gonna buy into the story and believe it, or you're gonna sell the story and say, nah, it doesn't hold water. Okay. Sounds good. All right. So this first one, Rory is more likely to win this year because the monkey is off his back.

SPEAKER_01

You know, I think so. I I would buy into that. I think uh a lot of these guys, Scotty probably similarly, you know, it's just there, there's not as much. Well, since we're talking about Rory, there's not as much for him to prove anymore. You know, he's done what he needs to do. I think he goes into this week with a much more calm demeanor. So yeah, I buy into that 100%. What about you?

SPEAKER_00

I disagree. I think I sell that only only for some of the other factors going into it, which is he's, you know, he's had some back trouble. I think the enjoyment he will want to have being the master's champion, doing the dinner, you know, playing with the amateur and and everything like that on the rounds. I think too much of that will be a distraction to where he's like, I don't need another jacket right now. I you know, I want to enjoy being the master, I've been waiting so long to get into this spot of being the master's champion. I want to fully enjoy this year. So I think he takes a year off. Um, and my my sleeper pick for this uh betting slot is a missed cut. And I know it sounds crazy, but I think if the back starts acting up, he's just gonna sell it hard. Yeah. That's that's a bold claim. It is a bold claim. It's it's definitely plus figures on that one. We'll we'll see what happens. Um, all right. This next one, Scotty has too much going on right now. Swing changes, new babies. He's too distracted to win.

SPEAKER_01

I think so. I I think there's a lot going on. I think he can handle it, but I don't, I think he's just been so murky these past couple months that I don't think it all comes together at Augusta.

SPEAKER_00

It was funny, the players were interviewed today and they were forced to pick other golfers that they thought would win this week. And unanimously everyone said Scotty. And like so much to the point where, like, are any of you guys gonna pick yourself to win this? And they were like, no, it's probably Scotty. And so it's pretty crazy. I sound so messed up. I think if Meredith stays home with the newborn and the kids, he's a little bit more likely to win. The fact that they all traveled to Augusta, I just feel like Scotty's such a good guy that he's not one to be like, I'm sleeping in the other room. You take the like I literally think there's a chance Scotty will wake up with the baby one of those nights and take care of him. And it's just I totally agree. It's crazy, but yeah, I but now I say that, and then this is the same guy who shot like what, three under the day he was arrested and put in jail. So I think he could be fine. Yep. So we'll see. I would go I would buy that story as well. I would say there's too much going on.

SPEAKER_01

Fair enough.

SPEAKER_00

All right, next one. Live, despite their changes, still doesn't compete on a big enough stage with competition to win at the masters.

SPEAKER_01

I think at one point I would have said that was true, but I think we've had Live around long enough now that the players know they need to be competing at the same level for when these opportunities arise, like the Masters or any other major. So no, I'm I'm not buying that. I'm selling that.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, there's something different with Live this year. Um, and we've talked about it a ton. You know, their headlines are fantastic this year. There's a spirit of competition on their tour. The cream is rising to the top, it seems like, in a lot of these tournaments. I would say previously I'd I'd thought of this, but I am selling the story this year. I think either Rom or Bryson could potentially do it. All right. This next one. This is the most open a masters has been in a long time.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, I think I buy most of that. I mean, we just have a lot of players who are in their top form right now, and a lot of top 10 world-ranked players that are in their top form. So, but then again, we've had seemingly no names win huge tournaments this year. So yeah, I think it's pretty open.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, I think it's open too. I'm buying it. I think if Scotty had been a little bit more dominant in this swing, that might not be true. But I think given everything that's going on, it's really up to Scotty, right? Whether it's the full, you know, favorite to to win it. I think he's five to one right now. I think he at one point he was like three to one. So I do think it's open. I think it's open. And like you said earlier, uh not only is it open for like the next top 15, 20 golfers, dude, some of this younger talent. Hey, if any golfer in recent history is to win this thing first time and and break Fuzzy Zeller's record, it's freaking caught Chris Goddard up. Like that dude can play, and he's playing at such a high level. And honestly, it seems like Augusta would fit him very well. I don't think he does it, but hell, uh it it could get interesting. All right. The Masters isn't the Masters without Tiger and Phil. For the first time since like 1987, we are not having Tiger or Phil in the Masters.

SPEAKER_01

That's actually pretty crazy. I didn't know that. I wouldn't say it's not the same. I still think it's the same. Would I like both of them to be there? 100%. But no, the Masters is just the Masters, whether whether either of them are there or not. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

I think I said 87. It's definitely 97. I don't know what I was smoking, but um, yes, regardless, yeah. Uh I I think I'd sell that story. It is still the Masters. We've known for quite a while that Tiger and Phil era is sadly winding to an end. And it has still been very exciting of a Masters these last five years that they have not won or been in contention. Um yeah, uh I think it's still the Masters. All right, this we're rounding now with two of them. Hudvig doesn't have the closers mentality to get it done.

SPEAKER_01

No, I don't think I don't buy that. I think he does. I think he's had some nerves, but I I think he'll he'll get it figured out. I think he definitely has it, the mentality.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, I obviously he's no doubt had his struggles and and clearly is struggling with something about finishing out rounds, but it's one of those things where they always say you put yourself in that position enough times, you're gonna figure it out. And I think he will as well. Even listening to him on the YouTube channels this week, he's just such a comfortable person. So it is kind of funny that you know he has had these kind of slip-ups on Sundays recently. Um, I think he definitely has the game, and I do think he has the mentality to get it done. All right, last one, a little bit of nostalgia here. Speeth and his latest improvements is primed for some magic. I I have some belief in that.

SPEAKER_01

We've seen a different speeth in the past year. So, and especially past few months. So, yeah, I could see it happening.

SPEAKER_00

I am charging guilty till proven innocent. I am not buying this every year. It seems like we'd say this. Every year it's like once he gets back to Augusta, he's gonna find it again. Yeah, I still don't think we've seen enough to to really cement that Speath could could do something magical. But hey, if it happens, no one's gonna be happier to be wrong than me. I think that would actually be great for the game right now. And so I hope he gets there, but I just I can't buy into that. All right, we'll see. These are such great stories. I mean, this is what makes the masters the masters. We could go on with storylines for the next four hours, and that's what's so great is just this is a script that's about to unfold for the next four days that could never be written.

SPEAKER_01

Yep, and that's that's why we keep coming back. It's it's a well-written story that we can look back on every year.

SPEAKER_00

All right. Last one before we close things down for the day. We've played this game before, but this is truth or bad lie. And so today we are talking about some of the most controversial tinfoil conspiracy theories surrounding Augusta National and the Masters. So I'm gonna read you some scenarios. You're gonna tell me what you think. Is there truth to it or is it a bad lie? Fake bird sounds are piped in through speakers and into the broadcast. I feel like that's true. I feel like I've heard that they actually do that. So I'm gonna say true. Now, despite what you've heard, you've probably heard some of these. I want you to make an educated guess on whether you think they're actually true. I think they're true. Okay. Okay. I I I kind of believe that one. I would go truth on that one. All right. Oh, so you don't know. No, these are these are truly unfounded.

SPEAKER_01

Oh, okay. I thought you were gonna tell me if I was right or not.

unknown

Nope.

SPEAKER_00

Um, I do think people will say that one more often than not is true. I don't know if anyone's actually confirmed it, but got it. Well, people will say that one's most likely true. All right, this next one, unfounded. Master's ticket application is rigged to reward not only wealthy zip codes, but Georgia-based zip codes unfairly. I think it has to be true. I think it has to be true. I will be able to do it. Algorithmic selection of the applications?

SPEAKER_01

Yes, 100%. As a software engineer, I could figure out how to do it myself. And I'm not even a very good engineer. So if I could figure it out, they got it on the lock.

SPEAKER_00

This old dusty group of good old Southern boys and CEOs are going. Going towards algorithmic configuration to select their lottery winners?

SPEAKER_01

Yes, they are. I bel I have to believe it because I still haven't gotten any.

SPEAKER_00

I still want to not believe it, but I think there's a little bit of truth to it. I think there's a little bit of truth to it.

unknown

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

All right. I will say when I was at Georgia Tech, I did use my fraternity house to try to register just to see what, you know, hey, dorm room. Hey, see what, see what's up, see if it works. Did not work. Um, all right. So, next one. Augusta and its members are secretly buying up the entire neighborhood of Augusta.

SPEAKER_01

I have heard that before, and I think that is true because I think there's one property that's on Augusta that is still privately owned or that borders it that they've been trying to buy forever, but the sellers just won't sell. I I have to think that they want to expand. I'm yeah, I think that's the truth.

SPEAKER_00

Can you imagine the pressure? And I mean, this is this is a list of the 300 plus most influential, powerful, rich people in the entire world, and they want to force you to do something and you're not doing it. Some stones on that house. I tell you, that's incredible. Absolutely. Yeah. But yes, it's got to be true. They're buying it up. And I believe kind of the conspiracy here is that they're buying it under aliases, even properties that extend past what they're obviously trying to buy to expand. I would say yes.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

All right. This one's this one's out there. So, in addition to sub-airflow, which everyone knows that that Augusta has, there are actually tunnels as wide as semi-trucks underneath the property that allow them to transport things from one end of the golf course to the other without it being seen on TV. Believe that. I feel like we wouldn't have evidence of that by now. Yeah, I'm not buying that. I think it's a bad lie. I think it's a bad lie. I don't, I don't see, I don't see the need. Like I understand that they want to manicure everything and and keep it out of I I see the principle in why they would want to do that. I just think they have smarter ways to do it and can manage around it. But no question that concept I could buy in that they would want. So we'll say it's a bad lie. Next one. A proprietary green spray has been developed to paint dry patches prior and during the tournament on dry grass to not appear to be anything but other than Kelly Green.

SPEAKER_01

Feel like they kind of have to. And I didn't this is just from me growing up at the local municipal courses. They would drive this tractor that would basically spray paint the grass green. And I'm sure it had other fertilizer or whatnot, but it looked very green afterwards. And I don't know how they make that course look that beautiful without cheating a little bit.

SPEAKER_00

This one has to be true. Now, whether how proprietary it is, I don't know. I don't care. It's probably just like the normal one your gardener uses every once in a while. Yeah, there's no question because there's not even there's not a bad patch. I actually did see today, though, that in practice rounds, they don't fill divots. They literally replace that patch of grass. So they have chunks of patches of grass that the groundskeepers are just lined the fairways with. And as soon as the divot gets taken out, they go and put another perfect patch of grass in there. So there's no selling.

SPEAKER_01

You know, I was just thinking about that because they have the whole women's amateur the week before. I'm like, it's not gonna all grow back in that time, but that makes sense.

SPEAKER_00

It looked like like almost like blocks or uh bricks you line up at to to put something in in brick. It was crazy. Yeah chunks of like six-inch chunks of turf and and soil. Crazy.

SPEAKER_01

Crazy.

SPEAKER_00

All right. This next one, this one's out there. Put your tinfoil hats on. This is so good. All right, hole number 12 has controllable airflow. No, like wind? No.

SPEAKER_01

Oh no, I'm gonna say no. I want so bad to say no.

SPEAKER_00

This is one of the very few ones where I'm like, maybe there's a chance. Like, this is to be fair, this is way out there. Like that would be crazy, but it is kind of believable. I I think they I think to a science, they really look at who the leaderboard is on Sun, even throughout the tournament, but especially going into Sunday, and will change pin placements and different things, move T-boxes to a science to ensure that their golfer that they want as the champion is in the best position possible. I truly believe that.

SPEAKER_01

Well, and hole 12 is where it all changed for Tiger in 19. So I'm telling you.

SPEAKER_00

If you've seen some of the craziest blow-ups, there is something to the apex and getting above that tree line, and it could be just obviously natural, you know, elements and things like that, but there is some crazy difference in the wind below that tree, above that tree, and far above that tree line. So it is such a weird thing. It's like, could they possibly, you know, have it? I'm not gonna go down that route, but okay, so you're saying you're saying bad lie. I am reluctantly saying bad lie, uh, but but maybe. Yeah. All right. That's that's it for for all the conspiracy theories. I think we did quite well there.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, that's that's too funny. I, you know, I would love if some of this came out and be like, oh shoot, we're actually right. Uh, but I mean, it's just the magic of Augusta, the mystery, the intrigue, it's everywhere.

SPEAKER_00

Well, we have an incredible week ahead of us. It it feels a shame that we're not going to record anything until after it's all over. I feel like maybe we should do a podcast, you know, Friday night after the cut. But down. Let's do it.

unknown

Okay. Good. Good.

SPEAKER_00

Uh, but until then, I can't wait to see what unfolds. That's gonna do it for us. Thank you for joining and see you next time.